Bright Magic
by NeutronFanGirl
Summary: After meeting Carl's strange cousin Abby at camp Jimmy is transported into a fantastic adventure not even he could have forseen. What will happen when he is forced to SAVE the relms of MAGIC?


**_Bright Magic_**

Chapter one

_"What are we going to do about him!"_

_"I haven't thought that far yet. I don't get it! He wasn't supposed to be there!"_

_"They sure are funny looking aren't they? But wardrobe forgiven they aren't too different."_

_"What?"_

_"TechVersers."_

_"Oh. No, not really. Of course not all TechVersers look like this one, he's kind of unique."_

Jimmy hazily realized he was listening to a conversation between two females, and had the vague idea it was about him. But what was a TechVerser? Oh, worry about that later, he told himself. With groggy single-mindedness he bent his will to opening his eyes. After a long moment with his mental commands going largely unheeded by his rebellious eyelids he gave it up an exercise in futility. Uhg… why did his head hurt so much? And he couldn't remember anything… how curious…

_"What's his name?"_

_"Jimmy Neutron."_

_"Weird…"_

_"You wouldn't think so if you knew him."_

_That voice… it was so familiar… Who's was it again…?_

_"I still can't get over that metal animal… Its mind blowing isn't it?"_

_"I know. Who'd have thought so much metal could go into one thing!"_

The second voice he recognized but couldn't remember from where, and who's was that other voice… that one was totally unfamiliar. C'mon, c'mooon! That voice! Whose….

Suddenly a face flashed before his mind's eye, startling him: Pale creamy skin, small pixy nose, smiling bow mouth, and startling blue eyes framed by a wealth of long flaming red hair. Abigail! Abigail? So, he thought sourly, this all circled back to HER, again. Ever since they'd met there had been no end to the trouble that little carrot-top had caused him! Disgruntled, he thought back to where his difficulty had begun…

**TWO MONTHS EARLIER:**

Jimmy groaned as the bus hit yet ANOTHER jounce in the road and came to the private conclusion that the driver must get some kind of cash award for every rock, pothole, dip, twig and tree branch (felled or otherwise) he hit. What else could account for his lack of interest in avoiding them?

They hit another and Carl, sitting beside him, hiccurped and clapped a hand to his mouth and clutched his stomach. "Gho… How much, umph, farther Jim?" he asked, sounding quite ill and miserable.

"Not too far Carl, I think I see something up ahead," Jimmy replied consolingly, struggling to peer out the muddy window. He slumped with a huff as he saw the lettering on the arch they were about to go under and thumped back into his seat. "I can't believe mom and dad sent me to Camp MAGIC of all places! MAGIC!"

"I dunno," Carl said beside him. "It doesn't sound so bad."

"TRUST me Carl, its stupid." Jimmy retorted, refusing to enjoy himself.

They passed under the entrance marker and after a few more minutes of uncomfortable driving rolled to a halt in front of a double cabin marked "Registration and Councilors" in peeling white lettering. They were instructed to exit the bus and gather their belongings. A camp official then told them to form two lines in order to check their baggage, while yet another official went up and down the line taking names and handing out nametags. Carl attempted to make conversation a few times but Jimmy was still sullen about his situation and the most response out of him was an annoyed shift of baggage and a "Humph!"

"Your bags please Mr., ah, Neutron." An old lady seated behind the registration table said, startling him out of his dour contemplations. Glaring a little he thumped his survival pack on the rough wood plank table and waited, occasionally sniffing at the clean pine-scented mountain air, which was thick and heavy and slightly damp.

The official rummaged through his things, muttering to herself and taking notes, neatly removing things and setting them aside to be replaced later. She came to a sudden stop when she reached the bottom of the pack and looked up at Jimmy over the rims of her bifocals. Raising an eyebrow at him she tilted the bag slightly so that the object inside glinted momentarily with a metallic sheen.

"What, may I ask, is this Mr. Neutron?"

"It's… uh… well you see it's… um… it's a carrying case I made at home before I came here Ma'am." He said quickly. "To keep my… souvenirs in, rocks and leaves and stuff. It looks sort of like a dog, would you like to see it?"

"No thank you Mr. Neutron." She said, sounding unconvinced, but she said nothing more on the matter and began replacing his articles neatly in the bag. Jimmy allowed a small sigh of relief. He highly doubted they would look kindly on Robot Dogs, let alone let him bring one into camp.

When she finished with his things the official handed him what looked like a blue plastic key card on a string to wear around his neck. "You're assigned to Blue Gate, keep this on at all times within camp grounds to prevent mix-ups." She handed him a small map next and leaned over the table so they could both read it. "Take Devon Trail up this way, past Green Gate and up a little more past Red Gate," her finger snaked up a trail on the map, indicating two cabin symbols along the way, one green and one red, each marked with a curious 4, "and keep following it to the last block of cabins, that's you Gate, Blue Gate." Her finger continued to travel along the map and came to rest on a little blue cabin symbol, also marked with a 4/. "Once you get there," the official was continuing, "wait with the others in your block, your GateKeeper should be around shortly to take roll, situate you in your respective bunks, give you a short tour, and to explain Camp Protocol."

"What's a GateKeeper?" he asked, taken off guard by the strange lingo. These weren't the camp terms he'd expected. Where was "Cabin B" or "Bunk House A West" and what was all this "Gate" business?

"Everything will be explained at your gate Mr. Neutron," she said dismissively, turning to attend to another child. Irked by the lack of an answer and his own confusion he shouldered his things and started up what he hoped was the right path, map and card key in hand.

Carl caught up with him a short time later. "What gate did you get?" he asked excitedly.

"Blue." Jimmy said gloomily.

"Me too! Lucky huh?"

"Well… it's SOMETHING at least." Jim allowed a small smile. "I just wish I knew the lingo a little better. Why are cabins called Gates instead? And why the color reference? And what in the world is a GateKeeper?"

"The colors are just for easy identification, and are mostly used when splitting up the kids into teams for camp wide sports, like canoeing races or ball games. The cabins are called Gates in honor of the founders of the camp, the three Gate Brothers, and the GateKeeper is sort of like the cabin leader, except they're in charge of all four cabins in a Gate instead of just one. They are responsible for our orientation, delegating our chores, getting us up in the morning, getting us to Mess Hall on time and pretty much every kid in their Gate. They are also one of our peers." Carl explained offhandly.

Jimmy just stared at him, open-mouthed. "How on earth do YOU know this and I don't?"

Carl shrugged. "My cousin Bee has been going here the last two years, lives just down the way in Bright Village. I get letters sometimes telling me about it."

"B?"

"Oh yeah, Bee's great!" The rest of the way Carl talked animatedly about his wonderful cousin "Bee" and the adventures this apparent super-person had gotten into. Jimmy couldn't be sure how much he was hearing was Carl's own exaggerated version of course, and what was truth, but it did make things a little more enjoyable...

Chapter Two Forthcomming...


End file.
